#and try and base it more on the interpretation of the character

[yannaryartside]

CARMY NEVER WANTED TO CREATE A MENU WITH SYD.

AND WHY THAT IS THE CORE THEME OF THE SHOW

PART 1: THE LIE THAT CARMY BELIEVES

So, one of the bases of creating an efficient character arc is to give the character something they want, and something they need. In the pursuit of getting what they want, the theme of the show and obstacles will show them what they need. Most of the time, they need healing from an emotional wound that prevents them from growing into the ultimate version of themselves, capable of winning the challenges of the story. I will try to explore Carmy's wound and, more importantly, the lie that created that wound.

In 'The negative trait thesaurus" by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi, it reads:

"Wounds are often kept secret from others because embedded within them is the lie-an untruth that the character believes about himself."

When I started therapy (disclaimer: this is not professional advice; I am just talking from how I interpreted all of this), I was introduced to the concept of "limiting beliefs:" lies we have told ourselves about our own nature or the nature of the world. The most difficult beliefs to leave behind are those established in our early childhoods, and we told ourselves those lies to make sense of the world, to make peace with realities we were not equipped to comprehend yet. 

Some examples of lies people belive:

"I am too stupid to learn anything; my teacher said so" "It was my fault that I was molested." "I am a bad person for wanting a different life."

When people believe these lies, they will act accordingly, maybe attracting situations that hurt them but keeping the lie active in their lives. They may self-sabotage or create bonds with people who also believe the lie, even if it doesn't seem this way. 

In some cases, people may develop complete personalities or behaviors to prove the lie wrong, but deep down, they still believe in the lie. Carmy falls into this last category. This is where we find the most contradictory parts of his personality, how he can act shy and insecure in some instances and appear confident and even aggressive in others. 

Long post underneath.

THE RESENT OF A MOTHER:

We can only assume here because I think Storer is gonna let us know more about this soon, but I think I got an idea of this wound when I saw the only moment Carmy was alone with Donna on "Fishes."

I have a lot of things to say about Donna herself, but let's begin with the obvious: the conversation in this scene had little to do with the dinner itself. This was a woman stating that she felt alone and not valued, probably due to being abandoned by her husband and having to overwork herself at the beef to support her 3 kids, all while being a single mother. We don't know if this feeling of abandonment is something she has carried since childhood, but in the state of current womanhood, it wouldn't be uncommon. The work of women (especially mothers), particularly the emotional labor, is rather invisible and not valued at all.

But again, this is something she has used as fuel to resent her kids, who, at the end of the day, didn't ask to be here. Her anger has to go somewhere since she cannot direct it toward the people that ctually caused it. To get to the point:

THE BEARZATTO SYBLING DYNAMIC

Carmy said, "You are not alone; I am here with you." (This kind of comes back to telling Syd she was not alone at the end of the season.) This scene is about a kid trying to communicate to his mother that he loves her and trying desperately to connect with her, to get her to express her affection for him as well.

It tells me that growing up, he felt like he had to "earn" her affection. Donna likes to make her kids feel guilty about her unhappiness, so the kids feel that they are constantly walking on shells because they think their mother hates them, or at least that she resents them and that it is their responsibility to fix it.

In the scene, Carmy asked,

"What is so hard, Mom?"

I think what he was actually asking is, "What is so hard about being with us, to love us? What did we do to you that made you resent us this way?" He is asking because he wants to know, to finally understand. Why do you drink, Mom? Why do you yell? Why do you say such hurtful things?

When she answers, "Nobody makes things beautiful for me," you can see in his face the disconnection. He knows he can't do anything about that.

Then, a crucial part in the scene occurs when Donna calls him "Michael, " which indicates that the only one of her children who could make her feel happy was Michael, or at least that is how the other two kids felt. You can see the hurt in Carmy's eyes in the scene because this answer dismisses his effort to connect to his mother in his own right. She asks him to just leave. He offers to wait to connect with her. Then, it comes to the most chilling moment on the scene, the "we have a problem" using his full name, with resentment in every word. She hugs him while crying, kisses him, and then slaps him.

This is rejection. There is a book called "The Five Wounds of the Soul": wich are Rejection, Abandonment, Humiliation, Betrayal, and Injustice. I think Carmy's wound is rejection, for never earning his mother's love, particularly comparing himself to Michael.

Michael took responsibility for the Beef, finally giving their mom a break. It was Michael's job to make sure everyone was having a good time, to compensate for the discomfort that caused being in Donna's presence, to make sure all of them stayed as a family, which was Donna's intention, so Michael thought he had to make that happen for her. Therefore, Michael is the only one of her kids who succeeds and makes her happy. We know Donna rejects Natalie and Carmy. About Natalie, we can write another whole essay.

THE LIE THAT CARMY BELIVES

According to this scene, I think Carmy thinks that her mother didn't love him because he is not Michael; in fact, he is the most "not like Michael" someone could be. He was shy and stuttered and didn't have friends or girlfriends, comparable to Michael's ability to control every room he was in. Carmy was sensible and no macho alfa as Michael presented himself to be. Carmy left home and the family business, and both Michael and Donna expressed that they feel like he thinks he is better than them. Michael admitted later to admiring Carmy's work in Copenhagen, but Donna never did. carmy grew up having to live with the crumbles of Donna's attention that Michael left behind, wondering every day what was so wrong with him that made her reject him, and wondering what he could do to change that.

The lie that Carmy belives, could be sumarize this way:

I need to earn people's love. I need to always go the extra mile, doing the most possible at all times to earn people's love.

This all goes back to his trauma with Michael. It goes back to his career as a chef and how he became the best. He didn't need to succeed on a larger scale in the culinary industry to earn Michael's respect and love; he needed to be the best in the world, so he did that. He judges his own social abilities, comparing them to Miachae's. He left that promising career only because of Michae's death. He got the girlfriend Michael wanted for him (not saying it was the only reason, but it was there).

PART 2: WHAT DOES ALL OF THIS HAD TO DO WITH SYDNEY?

Well, what does a person who feels they always need to do the most? They do the most. I want to bring you back to the moments Carmy had to develop menu ideas with Syd on s1 and s2.

When Syd suggested items for the menu in s1, he gave her an inconclusive, not enthusiastic "maybe."

When she had to actually cook the thing for him to approve, he tried to make her feel small about it. He felt the need to remind her that she was "impatient and green," according to her previous bosses. He commented about her possibly ruining the flow by using time to cook her recipe. Yikes all around, but the core here is that he was treating her like an enemy, like competition, while she was trying to save the restaurant with what they had on hand to use the most efficient solution.

Then, when Carmy tries the dish and feels stunned by it, he has to make an ambiguous excuse on the fly and just finishes every chance of them using the recipe by saying, "is not ready yet"

And what does he do next? He goes to show the crew a recipe that is extremely complicated for the level they are operating at currently—they said so themselves. I think the recipe is a variation of Donna's butter chicken recipe. To put a nail on that coffin of his intentions to earn her love and approval at the end of it all.

But why does he do all this? Because he needs to be the hero, subconsciously, he is still that small kid begging for acceptance and love; he must go the extra mile. He cannot accept Sydney's help and partnership, because that will take away from him earning what he wants on his own merit.

In S2, he seems unenthusiastic about starting the menu in the first place. Then Claire comes along, and he tries to make it work with Syd and the menu, but I think he subconsciously thanks the universe for not having to go to his core wound. That is what self-sabotage is. That is why he bailed on the food tour with Syd, using such a stupid excuse as helping somebody else move out and never mentioning it again. He never asked her what she liked or what ideas she thought of. For most of the creative process, Syd is alone, working on her own creative crisis. The menu ends up being like two recipes they made in collaboration and then all of his family's traditional recipes. It is two of Syd's recipes and the rest of Carmy's. Then, desserts Marcus did on his own. The collaboration was superficial at best.

All of this creates the core theme of the show. The Bear was once a chaotic place (like their childhood home) that needs to evolve into an efficient, peaceful place built on love, support, and mutual collaboration like a functional family should be. Sydney is the member of this found family that forces Carmy to confront his core wound and learn he can actually be good enough while still accepting help. Therapy probably will play an important part in this theme, alongside with Carmy learning there was nothing wrong with him in the first place, that earning your parent's love is not something a kid can do.

Thankyou for reading. Gif and images are not mine.

#sydcarmy #the bear meta #sydney adamu #carmy berzatto #carmen berzatto #the bear fx #the bear #sydney x carmy #carmy the bear #carmy x sydney #the bear hulu #donna berzatto #michael berzatto #natalie berzatto

[katzenklavierr]

Got an ask regarding the Restoration commentary track, so I'll summarize some of the interesting stuff in it for anyone interested who doesn't want to watch it/can't watch it at the moment and wants to know:

Overall, the direction they wanted to go with this was to provide some sense of closure for long-term fans of the show without de-legitimizing Joe Nicolosi & Jason Weight's trilogy. Thus, they wrote it in such a way where it can be taken as canon or not.

They consider RvB to have a comic-book-esq sense of continuity, where people can watch the parts they like and consider those the story, and leave the door open for fanworks and alternate interpretations. They say that fans often make connections to things they never even thought of.

They wanted to focus more on Red Team, which they acknowledged usually doesn't get as much plot-relevant stuff, but whom they consider to be important to setting the tone of the show and keeping it comedic.

They consider Simmons to be somewhat of the main character in the film and wanted to focus on his arc.

Wash's story arc was playing off of his arc in S17, but they wanted to take it in a different direction.

The main story is based on the original pitch Burns gave for S15, where it would have likely been expanded into a trilogy involving both stopping Tucker and trying to save him, but ultimately they went with Nicolosi's pitch instead. They condensed the story significantly for the movie.

The production team was very small, Hullum speculates the smallest one they've had since Season 8. They were also working under relatively tight budget and time constraints. Burns mentions working on the script as late as January 2023.

They said it was difficult to get the pacing right knowing it would be a single release rather than an episodic one. They also say that they did revisit some earlier seasons while working on it for inspiration.

They consider bringing Tex back to be Caboose's decision, not Church's. Church's plan was trying to bring himself back. They tried to imply this in the script without directly stating it.

There was a cut scene showing that Tex and Church spent a lot of time (relative to them) inside the memory unit before it was destroyed.

There's another deleted scene where it's revealed Simmons has access to Grif's internet history. Both of them are uncomfortable about this.

Donut is Geoff Ramsey's favourite character.

A certain website has been updated.

#Red vs Blue #RvB #RvB Restoration #RvB19 spoilers #RvB Restoration spoilers #RvB19 #RvB spoilers

[crazylittlejester]

I said Wars is twenty (twenty to twenty two is my range for him) just because I feel like at the oldest he’s like twenty during the war. This part is because it’s statistically more likely lol. Anyway, I feel like he’s 17/18/19 during the war, and idk how canon it is (if jojo’s ever said anything on the server?) how long it’s been since the war, but I feel like it hasn’t been very long. Mostly just vibes, honestly, but I also like the angst because traumatizing Wars is my favorite pastime these days.

For the second part, I think Twi is just a bit older than Wars (by two years or so) because TP Link is practically canon 17/18 on his adventure, and I just get the vibes it’s been longer for him. 🤷

Just my thoughts! Saw your post, thought I’d share lol. I’d love to hear yours, too!

Ooooooh okay okay (traumatizing Wars is my favorite pastime too!)

I wanna start off by saying to everyone that anyone can have whatever age headcanon they want, that’s the wonderful thing about their being no confirmed ages, but here’s my thoughts :)

My personal headcanon is that the War of Eras lasted for more than just a year, so to me during the war he was 17-20, and I feel like it’s been a while for him since the war. Comparing him to some of the others, he definitely seems older than a lot of them, and based on his dynamic in the group he really feels like the second oldest to me, and I totally see him as being in his late twenties

this is from the linkeduniverse instagram and it’s probably here on tumblr as well, i just had an easier time finding it on instagram, but i base most of my age headcanons for the Links on this :) and based on vibes I totally feel that Wars Time and Twilight are the older three of the group

I think a big reason why I started headcanoning Wars as second oldest was because the only other person who seems really close to him in age for me is Twilight, and looking at their dynamic, TO ME Wars seems older by a couple years, and Twilight to me is like 23

i read their dynamic as obnoxious extroverted older brother who won’t leave his poor introverted little brother (who is also a little shit but just better at hiding it) alone. Like I think Time has to sit there a lot and watch poor Twilight look at him like 🥺 while Wars absolutely torments him, and then Twi gets back at him some how and Warriors makes it everyone’s probably by loudly huffing and screaming about it and Twilight again just sits there like 🥺 (he gets away with murder)

anyways I think Warriors tries to big brother the hell outta everyone, and I think he’d still be trying to do it even if he was the youngest, but to me he’s late twenties :)

thank you for sending this ask i absolutely love hearing other people’s thoughts and headcanons, and its always so cool to see how differently we all interpret the characters

(art cred @linkeduniverse)

#jes talks #jes ask #linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu warriors #lu wars #lu twilight

[monty-glasses-roxy]

Final meteor's question, what would have happened to Vanessa if she was wearing the Vanny suit at the time a wave hit?

Would it fuse with her turning her into an anthropomorphic rabbit or would it remain a costume?

Nothing would happen.

In a Vanny situation, it would make whatever she's using blip out like any other electronic. This would include the mask if it's like the one Cassie has that lets her melt through the walls, and would allow the animatronics to see her. The only exception would be Roxy since she can already see her.

At best, it could maybe give Vanessa a few moments of control, and some momentary peace and quiet if she's already in control.

Otherwise? Yeah nothing different would happen. It'd still be a costume, Vanny would still be a problem and the other animatronics would maybe catch a glimpse of her and finally know what Roxy was on about before she was Glitchtrapped. The blips and momentary control/peace could, with really lucky timing, grant an opportunity to whoever Vanny/Glitch is trying to kill to escape, but yeah... that's about it.

Not the most exciting outcome here, huh? Yeah that sounds like a hell of a concept though damn... don't say that one too loud or the FNaF authors will hear you and either make it the biggest flop that punishes characters for wanting to be happy, or absolutely horrifying and incredibly avoidable agony. Lmao legit though that would be scary I like that

#meteors au #meteors vanessa #yeah the original meteors didn't have vanny or a security breach scenario #it was none of that so Vanessa becoming an anthro rabbit like the Vanny costume was like #nothing to do with actual Vanny in case you were wondering about that one #if I were to do it like that now though? #I'd pick a cat for her! #a tabby of sorts perhaps that's similar to her hair colour #or a calico for the patches like Vanny's patches #feels more appropriate #some kind of dog like a labrador perhaps would also work with the supposed changes to her personality #and also the fact she does as she's told... 'like a good girl' as she says... #associations and what not! #I'm not a Vanessa expert though. when I try to pick animals for non-animal characters I try not to go towards the natural association #and try and base it more on the interpretation of the character #does that make sense? #like I made a pokemon au for a different game a while back and based very little on aesthetics because like #I'd rather base it on key traits and stuff #so the association Vanessa has with rabbits is cool and all but she gives be 'tired alsation' or 'cat that sits and stares in disapproval'- #kind of vibes #BUT #I haven't really thought too hard about it so like #ehh take it with a grain of salt. #it's mostly the low energy vibes I get from her for the cat stuff #low energy 'why are you doing this' kind of energy. tired as she watches someone dangle string in front of her face like :| #though you can't really wrangle a cat so ehhh #OH ALSO THE NOCTURNAL BIT #that bit's important #she's a NIGHT guard :) #anyway!

[aroanthy]

i love how fraught and complicated discourse around various utena characters ‘dying’ is when anthy is literally stabbed to death eternally by a million swords imbued with human hatred. and then utena gets stabbed to death by them also. like. ‘death’ is incredibly interesting in rgu because most of the time it’s this ambiguous figurative thing that has interesting implications re: ohtori as a closed-off world one can escape. we are all trapped in our coffins. mamiya is the only named character with a grave. nemuro memorial hall functions as one all the same. ruka is implied to have died in the hospital— was he dead all along? who was the boy we saw for these two episodes? is this dead boy the same boy, or is this just another coincidence from the shadow girls, cutting like a knife? it’s heavily implied that akio and anthy murder kanae by poisoning her, adding to the previous implication that they were poisoning mr ohtori too, but there are no perceptible consequences of this. kanae’s absence is not felt. she’s fed an apple slice. what happens to the bodies? we know what happened to the 100 boys, but what about everyone else? and so on and so forth. ‘death’ is a tricky thing in utena, i think it’s constantly functioning on figurative and literal levels in very different ways for very different purposes. dios died. dios was dying. dios didn’t die. he grew up. etc etc

#what am i trying to say here? #idk! think about all of the pieces you have #dying is complicated in ohtori in countless different ways #and i find it boring to see so much ‘this character is dead and that’s it’ stuff #when death is used farrrrrrr more figuratively than some ppl give credit for #and i think the movie too does wonderful things with death #and what ‘dying’ really means #being disbelieved. being forgotten. being rejected. haunting despite this #much more interesting to think about wrt commentary on abusive relationships than it is #to think about what?? oh me when my brother died but plot twist he’s alive and can walk on this road all cool. like????? #akio doesn’t have the power to make himself revenant #he THINKS he does and he absolutely has power when he’s alive and he imbues that power with such meaning that it does live on after him #but ANTHY. anthy is the one struggling with herself and her feelings and the impact of trauma and abuse (that power!!) in aou #he’s dead? he died? she brought him back through her memories? or she’s left him (metaphorical death) and he’s haunting her?? #all such interesting interpretations #i haven’t mentioned touga bc i don’t have the energy today. if dead and just illusion of others memories then why active. why awful #like in aou akio is only Obviously scummy when he’s alive. his illusory self is based upon anthy’s love for him #if anime!touga is nothing more than nanami/whoever’s memories of him before he died……. why does he actively choose to suck again and again #like nanami wouldn’t do that. unless it was meant to be a subconscious thing like ooo he’s dead all along but that’s not what her arc is #it’s not ‘he’s been dead all along’ literally or figuratively. it’s ‘he’s unsafe and i don’t want him’ #sigh. once again i am asking people to think about nanami and touga’s dynamic through touga’s eyes #it’s so interesting to me how people forget to consider his motivations or feelings on ANYTHING #like sure his motivations and feelings are scummy but they’re interesting!!!!! they intrigue me!!!! #compel me even #anyway ignore how i said i didn’t have the energy for this and then typed it all out anyway #dais.txt

[altschmerzes]

getting real tired of people who are shitting on “found family” more generally as a narrative concept and specifically named familial dynamics in fan interpretation of characters in particular because it all seems to be getting painted with a really wide and really homogenous brush. “we need to take found family away from people because they think it all has to be In Nuclear Family Terms and do you know friendship exists and you don’t have to call these characters siblings to legitimize their relationship while making it clear you Don’t Ship Them Ew Gross and THEN you sneer at people who Do ship them” cool cool that is a lot of really intense characterization and assigning of motive to other people en bloc!

like sure there’s some meaningful critique to be found in a broad trend to label every single relationship directly and specifically with terms that have very specific contexts and roles but im waiting to be told when anyone IS by the standards of people making and reblogging these very sweepingly generalized posts allowed to call a relationship parental or whatever. is that Ever allowed. who is handing out the permits. sometimes a specific term for a relationship isn’t actually about wanting an excuse to sneer about your ship (and frankly there’s a lot of projection going on there imo from people who are actively sneering about other people’s interpretation of a relationship!) and it’s because there are very specific contexts and details about a dynamic that makes exploring it from the lens of siblings or whatever very rich and compelling and interesting because words mean things and assuming everyone is just being reductive and demanding conformity to a nuclear family is, ironically, really reductive.

so like. cool it. stop being really fucking mean about people having an interpretation of a dynamic you personally don’t like or makes you feel a little weird or uncomfy because you ship them.

#gav gab #im so tired of seeing people do this lmao #is someone actually being reductive and trying to get your ship labeled ‘basically incest’ #or did they just express on their own blog that they don’t ship something bc they see those characters as siblings #so it feels weird to them #you know #the exact personal preference and interpretation you’re expressing in the opposite #it’s all ‘UGH not every relationship NEEDS A SPECIFIC LABEL’ as soon as the label isn’t romantic lmao #like amazing of you to start caring about how friendship matters as is legitimate without anything else #as soon as it’s not about your fucking ship anymore :) #be real you do not care about friendship lmao you can just dismiss it more easily and comfortably #when people aren’t using terms that are more loaded to your ship #are the big meanie found family enjoyers actually harassing you for shipping fake incest #or are you just uncomfortable when it is not about you #and chronically unwilling to curate your experience the way you demand other people to #because fandom has always catered to shipping and why should it ever Not be expected to do that #bc I sure see a lot of shit talking of familial dynamic labels based on people who use those labels being weird to other people #and not a lot if any of those people actually being weird to shippers #and one or two isolated incidents is not indicative of a widespread problem #do what everyone who doesn’t like a popular ship does and unfollow and block lmfao grow up

[gideonisms]

I can't read the aj book reviews on goodreads though because I feel like people collectively did not get that the gender thing was A) in service to her other themes not the entire point of the book B) not a girlboss everyone's a woman now thing either

#maybe the idea started like oh what if i just used she pronouns for everyone but the writing is more nuanced than that #it's the empire taking over different cultures it's not like universally a good thing #it's what many of the characters grew up with so it doesn't occur to them that they could be a different gender #it's not a universally bad thing either it's not like the book goes 'oh the empire is wrong not to have two specific genders' #it's just like. in the same way this empire enforces gender and restricts bodily autonomy through constant surveillance #your empire does the same to you. it's just like asking you to question things #but some characters have no problem with their given pronouns. it's all socially constructed that's the point #breq was probably the first time i was really envious of someone's gender though #there's no like. status significance to her pronouns in her culture. she doesn't wear different styles based on it #then you see her having to translate herself to other people's expectations when she's outside of the empire #and she's constantly botching it even after 20 years #never related to someone's experience with gender more #it's like i don't really do that. lol. but you're welcome to interpret me however. it is simply none of my business #i'll be whatever is most convenient when i'm trying to rent a place to stay. assigned woman at rental application #i never agreed to this system it's just a weird cultural quirk that makes my life slightly worse but otherwise isn't important to me

[iknowwhereyousleepatnight]

i'm bad at watching shows but i'm interested in their characters/plots so i've decided to try and guess canon based off of reading a bunch of fanfics. so far i don't think i'm very close because it's something my sister has watched and the characters i keep reading about are like. the sidest of all side characters. but i will find canon somewhere

#i cannot sit down and watch something i can cook and listen to something i can draw and listen but i cannot sit and watch #so i am bad at the tv shows #but words i can get into #they should like. convert shows into words so i can read them instead #which is why i have chosen fanfiction #you may wonder why i chose fanfiction of all things? surely there's a summary? #well u see i believe it is much more entertaining to uncover canon through different interpretations of characters and how they're explored #and tbh i care more about characters in these cases than the plot. though i love plot i'm just more interested in characterization #bc plot is good and all but if you're characters suck then no-one cares #and in fanfiction people often play with characterization and explore them in ways that can go beyond canon #i'm trying to find the heart of these characters based on the way people write them #and even when characters are heavily changed for an au there will have to have been something to inspire that change #and i must decide if it's projection from the author or coincidental or there is a deep-seated reason that that character was altered #and i besides reading fanfic where you have no idea what's going on is pretty fun ngl #obviously i will need to read a lot of fanfic for sample size or whatever but i will get there and then i will double-check w my sister #to see how correct i can get it #she's more of a casual enjoyer of things so idk if my characterization focus will resonate or not but eh idc

[kil9]

taemin's criminal & the entire never gonna dance again trilogy are so under analyzed... for something so good and interesting youd think people would be diving deeper into it but unfortunately people just want to see pretty boy dance (i also do but more than that i want to go crazy about lore). ive seen only like 2 analyses of it besides my own (albeit im only looking in english, but still) and one was a "maybe the real 'criminal' is the fans" thing (real bland interpretation imo) and another that at least picked up how theres 2 taemins but then immediately got their roles wrong and i ended up closing out of it.... kinda sucks 😓 i also blame this partially on the fact that people are little haters about 2 kids and refuse to include it in the trilogy. its necessary context in my opinion

#99.txt #the ''the criminal is the fans'' kinda thing isnt like........ a bad interpretation for things in general but... #with ngda specifically its like theres clearly so much else going on. it feels so much like a cop out #not everything has to be a metaphor for real life events you know. you know some things can have an actual story of their own #hell.. if you want an ''allegory for how fame and fandom are killing him'' music video.. famous is literally right there #but abt ngda hes literally been like #''yeah this is my most STORY BASED videos where i play the role of 2 CHARACTERS :) have fun trying to figure out the story :) !!!'' #and then ppl go ''im gona ignore literally all of that'' #grrrrgrgrgrhghrgrrrrr #surely there must be more ppl like me i need to find them...........

[tired-needs-sleep]

you guys know

lore drops!!!! there's a lot of possibilities to make stuffs work with nia with the new information i have

the first idea is to say that nia's original backstory did happen separate from ari. meaning that she technically did have a childhood and the past was just altered to make it possible, along with becoming an interceptor, but got super unlucky with bio parents. basically the time person added a new character to the timeline with a backstory and had the other main characters rest in her subconscious while nia lived her life.

the second idea is that the backstories are one in the same, so it happened to ari (and axel) and nia suffered the same effects and such under the illusion it was her memory and hers only. fun fact, i originally imagined nia having two other siblings, one specifically being a brother she was close to. that's ironic lmao

the third, ari was simply reborn much earlier into nia and is revived as a newborn instead of a 17 year old, and ari is just a past life, which also is closest to canon while also not changing as much. here the only thing that was altered in the past was the interceptor stuff, plus getting nearby people in the area to discover baby nia, and it was just by chance that nia got terrible parents. (they weren't terrible in the beginning. things just went on a downward spiral as she got older.)

#sleepy rambles #oc: nia <3 #sleepy plays: rejuvenation #trying my best to take advantage of lack of information too #no information is usually irritating to me #but for backstories of a character based in a game with a plot it gives me lots of wiggle room #i get to go more crazy with less information #reborn and so far desolation has little to no established background for the player character so i just went wild #went crazier on nia too but i gotta adapt #would love to hear opinions on the ideas or even new ones if you guys have any!! #i don't wanna reveal too much detail of what happened with said bio parents #i really liked the idea of simply leaving it up for interpretation and speculation for the reader whenever i write nia #tbf i'm not very good at hiding stuff like that and if it's relevant i talk a little about it but nothing too deep yk? #also just realizing 1 and 3 are very similar

[sparring-spirals]

imogen being drained by her rudimentary hold on her psychic abilites vs resorting to mind reading bc she just has to get answers to any question that pops in her head and she has a hard time w frustration vs relying on what causes her immense pain as her only way to trust that they're being honest even if it means risking learning something she really didn't want to vs being repeatedly told to announce herself by ppl who unknowingly don't announce themselves on the regular vs so much more

and to add onto my messy "imogen vs" ask idk if it's the right wording and this is pure projection but: the way her relationship to her powers is transpiring kinda makes me feel the same way my ocd makes me feel like idk it's very very interesting and fascinating to me. i'm not sure exactly how to put it and which exemples to give (the character limit doesn't help my rambly nature) so this is a bit of an empty ask but yeah.... anyways keep sharing your thoughts it's always interesting! take care

First of all: thank you! You take care of yourself too. :D

Secondly: Hmmmmm. Okay. Gonna be straightforward here, I'm not sure my askbox/this space is the best option/conduit for this particular ask/line of thought, if only because. I think there is something specific in this you are resonating with/prodding at that draws from you personally, that you're trying to puzzle out.

Which! Is generally a valid and fine way to engage with media and is how some excellent metas are written. I think a lot of Imogen's struggles and characterizations resonate with a variety of mental/physical struggles, and there are so many goddamn layers to read it with. (This excellent post by @mysticalspiders comes to mind).

But also, I am not you, and so I don't feel particularly confident in interpreting something that is serving as a catalyst for your thoughts, in part because I'm absolutely going to interpret it differently, which can land differently if you're drawing from a very personal place when interpreting it.

(You don't have to feel bad about it, or anything, this is also a more general PSA so folks are aware before sending in headcanons/more indulgent projections/extensive theories- not because I dislike them necessarily, but because. I take asks for me to provide Opinions Or Analysis on things.

I definitely interpret things My Way, which can be different than intended, or even a more general "I have no thoughts about this, actually", which can land unpleasantly when people are invested or personally invested in their line of thought.

So, largely to play it safe, I'm going to say here, and also more generally, that I might not engage as much with what I understand as largely indulgent/personal hcs/metas that come through my askbox).

That aside, to the first part alone, I will say that: Yeah Imogen's brain is almost certainly going through a number of tug-of-wars and damage control at all times, and it makes her a very, very fascinating character to pull apart and poke. Definitely feel you on that. 👌

#this got long sorry. i hooe this doesnt come off as rude or blasé i understand the desire to kind of put the words out and see if i/someone #can grok the right parts and pull it out. but also i definitely think some interpretations/analysis can be more indulgence/projection based #which again. is FINE. and a fun way to engage with media (although knowing how to recognize when youre doing it/recognizing the text on its #own. but thats its own thing and not fully the point here). but also those things arent necessarily the best to send out into askboxes #bc if its inherently a deeply personal interpretation. other people are probably not going to get it right. #anyway anon if you decide to write out a meta on this it would probably be very interesting and good. #probably better than me spouting off of what is inherently your brainchild. ;P #spar speaks #ask away! #logistics #im not entirely sure how to tag this one its not very imogen related sorry anon 😅 #imogen temult #VERY tangentially sorry #i probably should have waited till i felt less fried to post this but its been a while and if i left it longer i might never answer #im wiped i apologize if this is rude or doesnt make sense #like a lot of MY readings and analysis tend to be very indulgent and projectiony. even when i try to drag it under control by laying out #all the steps in my thought process. so believe me when i say that im not judging the act of analysing characters indulgently

[the-somwthing]

I hate how someone could make a whole essay on why they think whatever celestial body fits whatever winner and people will be like “idk, it still doesn’t fit 100% perfectly like the first three therefore it’s stupid” YEAH CUZ GRIAN “name means sun in *checks notes* Scottish Gaelic” AND PEARL “her name has moon at the end” AND SCOTT “played starborne in origins smp” FIT SOOO WELL AND HAVE SOOO MUCH MORE MEANING… 😭

My point isn’t that the first three don’t fit, I think they do, but the core idea behind them being those things is so loose and meaningless, it’s clear we didn’t overthink it so I think it’s ridiculous that we should overthink all the others. Just find one little reason it fits and then expand on it like with the original 3.

#trafficblr #I mean I understand like ‘the first 3 were easy now it’s not clear’ #but genuinely I don’t think that means ppl have to STOP like a lot of others say. tell me who exactly is effected by some fans trying to #match planets to characters? who is being hurt by calling one character the earth instead of the other? #‘we need to retire the planets motif cuz we don’t all think the same’ no we need to enjoy seeing others interpretations more often #this DOES mean that if you want to retire the motif for urself that’s cool. this is about seeing others interpretations after all. #if you think it limits your creativity then go for it. but for others that limitation is what breeds creativity. so rlly do whatever u want. #my POINT is that if I see someone draw art of the winners and use a symbol for say martyn that I don’t recognize #instead of going ‘L not mars’ I get to go ‘oh that’s cool I wonder why they chose this for this character’ #anyways about the MAIN post this is why I’m a mars truther. if most of them are based on their freaking names then why not Martyn. #but again like my world isn’t gonna END if you picked something else. oh no this fan art represented him with a different symbol SAID NO ONE #I’m sure there’s probably some annoying fans out there who go ‘erm actually Scar is the shmooper 🤓’ or whatever #but then the problem is the individual getting tilted over what symbols are used. thats like complaining about a color pallet. #brother who cares it’s art. you recognize the character. if you don’t understand why that symbol was used for them u can ask most ppl love #to explain their interpretations and reasons for using a specific symbol.

[cookie-waffle]

I’m glad more people are respecting botw/totk Link as an actual character with some level of depth, but, I think too many of you are forgetting the kinda person he was after losing his memories.

He’s playful, and especially good with kids.

He is HORRIBLE at flirting, or probably only does it as a joke and isn’t serious about it. Might even say things that are inappropriate sometimes.

just a general smartass.

He’s bashful. He breaks the stoic demeanor when told he looks cute in his new outfit or is asked if he has a crush on someone lol.

Other things Link has done that I couldn’t find images of but do actually happen:

- Scamming a creep into giving him his shoes.

- (botw) Trying to actually for real use the “but I’m over 100” excuse at a bar when he was 17, and completely failing at it.

- Drank what is essentially hyrule’s equivalent to sunscreen.

- Actually enjoys eating rocks

When people try to analyze Link’s character, I notice that they try to brush off depictions if his character that are more “silly goofy guy” as ooc, when those interpretations are still actually based in canon evidence.

Even Creating a Champion describes him as “more lively” after waking up. Mipha’s journal mentions he was more happy and extroverted as a young child, implying that he likely became that way due to trauma, but still probably has those playful tendencies.

#botw #totk #legend of zelda #tears of the kingdom #breath of the wild

[tofixtheshadows]

You guys really need to stop and consider the ways you're talking about Kabru I am dead fucking serious. Like I know that flattening characters is just what fandom does to a certain extent, but Kabru's actual personality is getting lost to the fandom hivemind insisting that he's aggressive/cruel/sociopathic/hateful, and these are particularly concerning takes to see leveled at the only brown character in the main cast day after day. "My poor sweet golden child Laios needs to be protected from this scary brown man" is not a good look! Like, it's very telling that the bulk of the hate and bad faith readings are reserved for Toshiro and Kabru. Everyone else's flaws get to be discussed and validated and forgiven (or erased), meanwhile people are straight making up things to be mad about with Toshiro and Kabru but patting themselves on the back for being smart.

The worst part is how undeserved it all is. I'm trying to lay off anime-onlys because we're still kind of in the red herring stage of getting to know Kabru, but I would still like to gently suggest that even if you think Kabru is up to something, you don't gave to get in the tags of every fan creator's post and bring up how you hate him or You Can Tell he's totally evil. Sometimes I think Kabru's blue eyes give people license to say things about his appearance that they know would sound completely racist otherwise, but referring to his blue eyes acts as a get-out-of-racism free card. The jokes about the dog with brown contacts are getting old, by the way.

For people who have read the manga, it's disappointing. Kabru is one of the most complex and important characters in the story, and if you base your interpretation of him and all your fandom interactions on shallow first impressions you are completely missing out.

I know part of this is because Dungeon Meshi is a comedy, but the story also wants to be taken seriously. For example, it's admittedly really funny when Chilchuck calls Laios "sick in the head", but that doesn't change the fact that the way Chilchuck casually belittles Laios caused him to hide the fact that he was "hallucinating" from his friends for weeks. Those feelings matter.

Like, this

is funny.

But this?

Is not. This is just a very clear example of a brown boy with PTSD. As someone else with PTSD, just looking at this fucking sucks, man.

The only reason why Kabru thinks about killing Laios is because he is in the middle of a flashback. He's struggling through a panic attack. If he truly wanted to kill Laios because he's violent or because he finds Laios inherently annoying, he wouldn't otherwise talk with Laios normally. Notice how he doesn't act this way at any other point in the story- it's just because he's triggered by monsters. Even when he's thinking about his plans to "deal with" Laios later, he's reluctant to actually kill him and only considers it to prevent another tragedy. Despite his deadly skills, Kabru relies far more on "soft" power- insight, persuasion, diplomacy. He's a rare example of a character who absolutely is, or at least can be, manipulative, but seems to use his abilities for good. He's not a pathological liar, he isn't looking down on everyone behind a smile. He's someone who is extremely emotionally intelligent, and he's willing to put aside all his own basic wants and needs to stop the cycle of dungeons devouring humans.

I'm going to cut a potential thesis on his character short and just give some examples of things that fandom should consider about his personality more:

Racism in fandom isn't just about whitewashing in fan art, or using racial slurs. The insidiousness of bad faith readings, reductions to racist tropes, lack of fan content for characters of color, and dismissal of a character's complexity are far more common. You can believe yourself to be completely neutral or even positive about a character and still churn out low-grade bile about them into fandom's collective unconscious. Fandom reflects real life.

And I have been around fandom long enough to see how these behaviors (mostly from my fellow white fans) affect fans of color, how it makes a fandom feel hostile and unwelcome to them. It's fun to make jokes and memes, I'm absolutely not saying that everything needs to be a deeply nuanced take, but we need to be careful that it doesn't veer into toxicity. Please think about how our contributions to fandom come across, and what sort of vibes they cultivate in this communal space.

#Dungeon Meshi #Kabru #Kabru of Utaya #Dungeon Meshi meta #I'm putting it in the tag. I'm making you look at it. #if you come into my inbox to bitch about this just know that people used to send me b*heading videos in there for similar racist reasons #so I will not be impressed #I'm in a fucking time loop someone get me out!!!! #musings with Dea

[generalsmemories]

To raise a child

✧ jing yuan x gn!reader ft. yanqing (platonic)

✧ based on the asks: 3 requests asking for a family fic with jing yuan and yanqing

✧ synopsis: raising a child is always hard, even when you're a long life species with a lot of experiences.

✧ contents: established relationship, fluff, found family trope (a.k.a my one weakness with every media), yanqing & reader have a slight rocky start, mentions of other characters, sentences in italics are readers thoughts.

✧ a/n: i'm not gonna chuck angst into a found family trope unless i feel particulary miserable, they just gonna have a good ole time being parents to a yanqing from when he was a wee babie to the lieutenant he is today - also a lot of this is my own interpretation SINCE I DON'T GET A CRUMB ON HOW THE HELL THIS MAN FOUND MY BABY. not beta-ed like usual i'm sorry.

The first time you were told about Yanqing's existence was when you were not onboard Luofu, which honestly made the first meeting between the two of you a lot worse.

"... Pardon, he found what now while I'm away?" you stare bewildreded at the messenger before you while clutching the letter Jing Yuan had written to you - you can practically hear his easy-going voice resound in your head through the words before you.

"What do you mean he suddenly picked up a whole child?!"

Safe to say that the Luofu were turned upside down by the time you came back to the ship. Rumours spread amongst the citizens, gossip between the storytellers and the newsboard retelling the latest news and constantly updating on any new "information" they had gotten.

To say you got stopped at every corner before you even stepped foot back in land was an understatement. You practically had a crowd waiting for you - it was only by the assistance of Yukong that you had managed to worm yourself out of the crowd and hightail home.

Maybe it's because Jing Yuan knew you would come home first, or maybe it's because he was aware that you had a lot of questions for him. Which was why you had gotten a text prior to landing with the single message of:

"Decided to take the day off today <3"

Safe to say he was left on read.

"Jing Yuan, what has gotten into you-" are the first words that leaves your mouth when you slam your entrance doors open, only for your eyes to widen when Jing Yuan is already waiting for you at the foyer. Hands behind his back and sporting his signature smile, but your gaze isn't at your lover before you.

Rather it was on the smaller child that was hiding behind his legs, he was by no means scared of your sudden appearance you noticed. Rather, he was sizing you up and down with a fierce gaze, almost like a lion cub who had just found its first prey.

The glare made your previous anger and confusion fade into a more surprised shock, rendering you speechless on how to proceed further. Jing Yuan steps in after seeing your anger dissipate upon seeing the fierce boy, raising a hand to ruffle Yanqing's hair before he directs his gaze back to you who is still staring at Yanqing in mild surprise.

"He's a feisty one isn't he?" is what he utters softly, and it's the slight exhaustion in his voice that causes you to let your guard down and put aside your confusion and need for answers aside.

Right now there's a young child before you, a child that you don't know the lineage of - but a child that Jing Yuan himself had picked up and stood his ground against public opinion for.

And Jing Yuan didn't do things without reason.

But you're well aware that he's also the kind to not tell you much as to why he had done a few decisions. As futile as you know it is, you would still try to get something out of him later. But for now, you would have to try to give a better impression of yourself to this kid who you're pretty sure sees you as anything, but a person with good intentions.

... What do you say to a child that is currently holding animosity towards you?

Seeing your distraught face makes Jing Yuan let out a chuckle, glancing down at Yanqing who is still staring fiercly at you, "They're not someone you should be on guard with. That's my spouse, they're just surprised by your sudden arrival is all, Yanqing."

So his name is Yanqing.

The reassurance from Jing Yuan makes the young boy relax a bit, but you can still tell he's very much on guard against you, "... I'm Yanqing," he mutters quietly.

The two of you seem to have a long way to go from the first encounter.

"... What were you thinking?" you question the moment Jing Yuan slides the door to your bedroom shut, you had spent the majority of the afternoon cleaning up a spare room for Yanqing to sleep in after the meeting while the two had headed out to prepare the paperwork for Yanqing to be offcially be recgonized as a Cloud Knight.

"... I saw potential?" he tries, but with one glance at your direction and being faced with your quirked eyebrow makes him let out a sigh instead, reaching a hand behind his head to pull the red ribbon tying his hair back.

He doesn't say anything as he makes his way over to you. Neither does he utter a word when he lets his entire weight fall on top of your own, the noise of surprise you let out making him chuckle, rubbing his face onto neck, "W-Wait, hold on. There's a literal child in this house now, what are you-"

"Dear, what are you thinking?" Jing Yuan snorts before you finish your sentence, wrapping his arms around your waist before flipping himself over so that you're laying on top of him, "Our schedule clashed together too much that it's been 2 years since I last saw you? And when I meet you again you looked like you were going to pull my head off of my own body, this is quite frankly the first instance where I get you all to myself," he explains, raising an eyebrow at your gradually reddening face, "Whatever you were imagining is beyond me, darling."

"... Shut up and tell me the truth already," you murmur before burying your face in his chest, lifting a closed fist to lightly hit his arm when you feel his chest rumble with his constrained laughter.

"I didn't lie when I said I saw potential. Despite his young age, Yanqing is quite gifted with the sword," he starts after a brief silence, fingers drumming along the spine of your back, "But it would be more accurate to say I'm preparing the future generation?" he muses out loud, sounding unsure himself which makes let out a chuckle, "Wow, I'm sure lady Fu Xuan would be delighted by the news of your possible retirement."

"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint our Master Diviner for another few decades unfortunately. She's still far too young to take up the mantle of the general."

You hum, raising your head up from his chest to make eye contact, Jing Yuan directing his gaze from staring up at the ceiling to instead stare at you as well, "Next time you're thinking of picking up a kid, give me a heads up? Or else you're going to end up on the news again like today with the headlines of you committing infidelity."

He laughs, hoisting you further up his body to peck your lips, "Please, I won't be picking up another child anytime soon. But maybe I need to show the citizens that I only have eyes for one person if they were swayed this easily by the apperance of one child."

"... Please don't say something that embarassing in front of Yanqing."

"See, you're already being a great parental figure."

Great parental figure my ass.

Is what's currently running through your mind as you're once again, left alone with Jing Yuan's prodigal apprentince. it's been a few months after Yanqing's first arrival, and the relationship between the two of you seem to still be threading on thin ice.

Your relationship with the young prodigy hasn't gotten worse, but it has in no way improved either. Whenever Jing Yuan is not present amongst the three of you, Yanqing becomes extra reserved and takes extra caution to not bother you - which makes any attempt to even talk to him 10 times harder than it has to be.

Yanqing is out in the garden, brushing the fallen leaves into a neat pile while you're sitting by the living room table doing paperwork. And yet, ever since Jing Yuan had stepped out for some urgent business, the two of you haven't even spoken a single word to each other.

Yanqing was at an age where you didn't need to give him constant attention, but with the way you two had started on the wrong foot it felt a lot harder trying to get closer to him - mostly because the boy himself tries to not be a burden on you, which in a way has become a burden.

Not to mention, Jing Yuan spends the most time with him training him personally - so the time you spend with Yanqing is close to nothing compared to your lover.

The odds are truly against you at the moment.

At this point, the new paper scroll that you had rolled out were becoming useless with how long you had pressed the ink filled brush on it's surface, the gradual circle of ink stained paper growing with each passing minute.

Topics you can talk about.. Jing Yuan mentioned he was great with a sword, but it's been ages since I've held a sword myself till the point he's probably better than me...

Were you always this awkward with children?

Glancing at the clock, you notice it's almost time for your meetup with master Gongshu over at the Artisanship Commission. So with a reluctant sigh, you glance down at the paper scroll before you - that has long been ruined before you put the brush away and roll the scroll back up.

"... Yanqing I'm about to head to out to the Artisanship Commission, can you..." your voice dies down when you see the boy whip his head around the moment you mention the Commission. And although he tries to hide it, you would be a fool to not notice the sparkle in his eyes at the mention of where you are going.

"... Do you want to join?" you end up asking instead.

You've never seen his facial expression change so much in just a few seconds. First you could tell he wanted to agree, but then you're pretty sure he managed to figure out why you were going and didn't want to be a burden, but still wanted to go. You soon saw hope come back to his eyes, presumably remembering that you personally asked, but you saw the same hope dwindle down when he probably thought that you asked just to include him.

The sight made you laugh, "... A child is a child after all, no matter where they are," you whisper quietly to yourself, "You won't be a bother, Yanqing. And wouldn't it be better for you to look around the Luofu a bit? I'm pretty sure Jing Yuan has only brought you to the Cloud Knights training area after all, we can even stop by Cloudbreath Sleeves to take your measurements so that you can get some tailor-made clothes and not Jing Yuan's old clothes."

That seemed to be the only reassurance he needed.

You're pretty sure Yanqing hasn't noticed that your meeting with master Gongshu ended 15 minutes ago. Neither has he seemed to realize that the two of you have spent the next 15 minutes just observing his every reaction to the swords on display.

His eyes seemed particulary glued to an iridescent blue sword with a black handle, master Gongzhu giving a low whistle beside you, "He's got a good eye."

You roll your eyes, "Send me the invoice later," you reply back before stepping towards the awestruck boy, "Why not bring it home with us?" you ask, Yanqing jumping slightly in surprise, his head turning around with widened eyes, "I can't possibly ask that of you, I can just save up-"

"You're staring at it like it's your first love, Yanqing," you chuckle, reaching out to grab the handle, twirling it around before reaching for the scabbard right underneath where it was displayed - sliding the sword inside.

"Consider it a gift, for future endeavours."

He blinks, taking the scabbard from your hands, staring at the intricate design weaved into the metal - and you notice the faint tears forming at the corners of his eyes before the boy leaps into your arms to give you a hug, "I swear I'll treasure it, thank you!"

Perhaps too shocked by the sudden hug, you fail to realize that master Gongshu had quickly snapped a picture of the scene and sending it to a certain general.

Qingzu had to stop the very same general from storming away from the Divine of Foresight to head to the Artisanship Commission the very next minute.

"... Well the two of you seem to have gotten a lot closer these past few months," Jing Yuan comments the moment he noticed the position you were currently in. You merely glared halfheartedly at him, but Jing Yuan made no effort to help you - instead walking over to bend down to peck your forehead, careful to not wake the child asleep on top of you.

"I told him to head home before me since I still had affairs to tend to, didn't think he would immediately collapse on top of you and doze off," Jing Yuan remarks with a laugh.

You had one hand supporting Yanqing weight on top of you so that he doesn't topple over, so you decide to use your other hand to reach over and flick Jing Yuan on the forhead - a flick he moved away from with a smirk, "He just dozed off mid-talk too. He was talking about your recent spar match before he just fell asleep," you say, "And to think he vehemently denied not needing a nap after a training session because he's not a child."

Jing Yuan lets out another laugh at that, effortlessly wrangling Yanqing away from your hold and hoisting him up in his arms without manaing to wake him up, "Well if you treat him like an adult, he'll show the temperament of a child as well."

"You should try to get some rest as well, dear. We can just order something from Aurum Alley later," Jing Yuan suggests, to which you merely nod to, standing up to stretch your limbs, "Join me then, I'm sure our dozing general is quite tired too."

"My, what an alluring offer. Can I assume that there's something more-"

"Don't push your luck."

here's the 3 requests that wanted a family fic - i actually struggled a bit with how to do this, but alas - i just know future me will conjure something up again so have this as a teaser HAHA

#honkai star rail x reader #honkai star rail x you #honkai star rail imagines #hsr x reader #hsr x you #star rail x reader #star rail imagines #jing yuan x reader #jing yuan x you #x reader #reader insert

[jonnywaistcoat]

Hi Jonny, if you don't mind I have a question about the TMA TTRPG! So I noticed that on the player's guide there's this guy, who my friends and I assumed is probably Jon. If it is him, is this a canon design, or more like some of the non-canon stuff that's in the merch?

So, I hope you don't mind if i use this ask to go a bit off on one. I'm not specifically dragging you (I'm actualy glad you asked, as I've thinking about posting on the topic), but all the discussion around the RPG art and how "official" or "canon" it might be is, to my mind, slightly silly.

First up, is it "official" art? I mean, yeah, its art for the officially licenced Magnus Archives RPG. This means Monte Cook Games have commissioned someone to do a beatiful illustration broadly based on some aspect, episode or character from the podcast and it goes in the book. But that's kinda all it means. "Official" is a legal distinction, not an artistic one. The fact that it's in an official product doesn't make it any less one artist's cool interpretation of a character that has only been vaguely described in audio.

Second, is it Jonathan Sims the Archivist? I mean, it's probably based on the idea of him, but it's certainly not set in stone. When we were first discussing art with MCG, we advised that character pictures be more vibes-based and not explicitly tied to specific people (ie. a portrait inspired by Tim wouldn't be captioned "This is Tim" and wouldn't be placed opposite a profile for Tim Stoker, archival assistant.) This was mainly because we wanted the artists to have plenty of freedom to interpret and not feel too tied down by the need to know everything about the podcast. But, to be frank, it was also because we know that there are a few fans out there that are kinda Not Chill about what they've personally decided these characters look like and can get a bit defensive over depictions that differ.

It strikes me as particularly strange to be having this discussion about art that's for a roleplying game book. Something that's explicitly and solely designed to give you the ability to play in your version of the Magnus universe. The idea that this is the thing where we'd for some reason try to immutably establish unchangable appearances for these characters would be pretty funny if some folks weren't taking it so seriously. Similarly ridiculous is the idea we could reasonably have said to MCG "We'd love for you to make a huge beautiful RPG book of our setting... Just make sure you don't depict any of the iconic characters or events from it!"

But... is it "canon"? Now, to my mind, this highlights a real weakness in a lot of fandom thinking around "canon", which is that it generally has no idea what to do with adaptations. All adaptation is interpretation, and relies on taking a work and letting new creatives (and sometimes the same ones) have a different take on it. Are the appearances of the Fellowship of the Ring in the LOTR movies "canon"? How much, if at all, does that matter? Neil Gaiman's book Neverwhere was originaly a 90s BBC series made with a budget of 50 pence; is anyone who makes fanart of Mr Croup that doesn't look like the actor Hywel Bennet breaking canon? What about the novel that describes the character differently? Or the officially licenced Neverwhere comic where he looks like neither of them? Which is his "canon appearance"?

Canon is an inherently messy concept, and while it is useful for a creative team trying to keep continuity and consistency within a creative work, for thinking about anything beyond that it tends to be more hinderance than help.

Anyway, all this is to say that the above picture and all the others in the RPG are exactly as canon as every other picture you've ever seen of the Archivist.

#sorry for the huge answer #been thinking about it a lot recently #and wanted to get my thoughts down